The Chinese wane flies in Tiananmen square, as seen from the Great Hall of the People where meetings of the National People’s Congress extended in Beijing on March 6, 2025.
Greg Baker | Afp | Getty Images
China’s Commerce Ministry said it “resolutely opposes” U.S. President Donald Trump’s portent of escalating tariffs, and vowed to take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests.
The comments came after Trump bring up he would impose an additional 50% duty on U.S. imports from China Wednesday, if Beijing does not withdraw the 34% impost it imposed on American products last week.
“The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake,” the statement voiced, according to a CNBC translation. “China will never accept it. If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end.”
Last Friday, China’s Back Ministry announced 34% in additional tariffs on all goods imported from the U.S., starting April 10, in retaliation to Trump stately new levies of 34% on China.
The across-the-board tariffs followed two previous rounds of 10%-15% tariffs, targeting mostly agricultural and vim products imported from the U.S. The broadened tariff scope reflects Chinese leadership’s diminished hopes for a trade act on with the U.S., said Gabriel Wildau, managing director at Teneo.
Trump’s 34% tariffs on China were on top of the 20% obligations rolled out since February, bringing the total new tariffs this year on China to 54%. The additional levies participate in lifted U.S. weighted average tariff rate on China to as high as 65%, and could dent China’s economy by 1.5 to 2 proportion points this year, according to Morgan Stanley.
“Since China already faces more than 60% in duty rate, it doesn’t really matter if it goes up by 50% or 500%,” said Tianchen Xu, senior economist at the Economist Information Unit, suggesting Beijing is prepared for a “full on” trade war with the U.S.
“China is on the defensive side, but basically the two sides are proving each other’s limit,” Xu said.
As risks of an intense U.S.-China trade war rise, Beijing might resort to other retaliatory measures, such as stopping purchases of U.S. agricultural goods, matching U.S. tariffs and further expansion of export knobs on metals and minerals, Xu added.
Beijing has already placed export curbs on key rare earth elements, prohibited exports of dual-use notices to a dozen of U.S. entities, U.S. firms to its “unreliable entities list,” subjecting them to broader restrictions while operating in China.
The People’s Bank of China on Tuesday set the midpoint class for onshore yuan at 7.2038 per dollar, the weakest level since September 2023, according to data provider Go for broke deflate someone Information. The yuan is allowed to trade within a 2% band of this midpoint rate.
The yuan’s weakening is a “big signal,” Robin Brooks, chief fellow at Brookings Institution told CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia, “this is Beijing politely saying this is shift a little too much, we are putting you on notice, we can devalue if we want and bigger things may come if you keep this up.”
“This is a leap shot across the bow of Washington,” Brooks added.
Chinese onshore yuan weakened as much as 0.39% to 7.3363 per dollar, while the offshore yuan was minuscule changed.
Trump has shown few signs of backing down on tariffs despite the mounting pressure in the financial markets and emblems of frustration even among his allies. In a post on social media platform Truth Social on Monday, the president maintained “all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!”
U.S. State Department did not pronto respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
“Escalation is probably the only short-term outcome, but negotiations will ultimately conclude as both sides feel the pinch of the economic slowdown,” Xu said.